Or your balcony, or your tiny concrete backyard. It’s easier than you think to develop a green thumb in a big city.
City living doesn't leave a lot of room for gardening.
But it also doesn't leave none. Your apartment probably (hopefully) has a fire escape, a balcony, or a patio. And that means you've got a little chunk of outdoor space that you can use to set up a kitchen garden of your very own.
Growing your own herbs is especially great because they don't take much space and a little will go a long way in food. Also great: You don't have to buy a huge bunch of parsley for a single recipe and then let the rest rot in the fridge. Instead, you can snip off just as much as you need at a time.
Here's what you need to know to get started:
First things first: Make sure it's safe.
To be clear, storing items on a fire escape IS against fire code (at least in New York City), and for a reason — if you can't actually walk on it or access the stairs/ladder, it's not a very effective "escape."
That said, if you're careful to leave a clear, walkable path that will let someone access both the window and the ladder, you should still have space for a few pots that can really brighten up your life every day there isn't a fire (which will hopefully be all of them).
Kristine Paulus / Flickr: kpaulus / Creative Commons
And be discreet.
Even if you're careful about making your fire escape garden safe, you may still get in hot water with your landlord or the relevant authorities if it's easily visible to people on the street. And your little herb friends deserve a safe space! So, basically, don't be stupid. If the fire escape isn't behind your building or is too small to safely fill with pots, think about some other apartment-friendly gardening options instead.
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